Last December, Americans were in front of the TV throughout the day as they watched the news in horror and disdain.  20 innocent children were killed as a result of two individual who abused the second amendment.  Texas State Representative Jason Villalba decided to take matters into his own hands by suggesting teachers have consent to bring concealed weapons into the school facility.  He claimed “we need to keep this from happening again.” But despite good intentions, possession of guns in a classroom won’t necessarily protect and in fact might produce even more of a threat.

There are certain places in this world that are considered a safe haven even from the time of adolescence.  A classroom is one of them.  A classroom is designed to incubate the well being of students and teachers to insure the upmost undisturbed learning and development.  Our future depends upon it.  Guns indicate a threat and threats lead to paranoia.  Students who once were comfortable enough to set worries aside to focus on learning might be distracted with concern at the sight of a gun.  If the school was as safe as portrayed to the student, the gun would be unnecessary.  A gun just has no business in such a delicate environment.  The only factor that keeps a place with such a teacher to student ratio stable is the sensitive balance between motivation to learn and the fear of consequences.  A gun throws off the balance by tampering with the student’s motivation to learn by instilling concern and by providing another method of eliminating the main source of consequences.  A gun can be a great equalizer, but it can also be a “little friend” to the next Scarface who get their undeserving hands on it.  There’s no guarantee a teacher’s grade records are safe from students.  With a little bit of drive, how are guns different?

Guns belong in the hands of those less prone to such potential chaos. It may be part of the second amendment to carry guns but with great power comes great responsibility.  Those who are vigorously trained and prepared for a suitable threat are the only ones who should be allowed to carry a gun, not just any Yosemite Sam who feels obliged to protect his land.  A liaison officer is all we need to ensure the safety of the school.  They are properly trained and a suitably fit to defend students in such a dire situation.  If that isn’t enough, Randall High School has a lock-down method in case of an invasion.  This method works in time for the liaison officer and other specialized forces to capture to predator while keeping students and teachers confined in safety. There hasn’t been a reason to even use this method at Randall High School? I think this decision is jumping the gun.

Even if a threat were to breach the premises, they are much more likely to invade with the mindset of “I have the upper hand.”  That’s why they carry guns.  Considering how outnumbered the predator would be at a school, weapons would be just about their only advantage. Certain predators like the Columbine shooters devised actual plots and intend on successfully killing a set amount of people.  They probably research their victims to see what they’re up against.  Meticulous killers would probably be aware of teachers being condoned to carry guns and if they’re that determined to reach their goal; wouldn’t they feel inclined to use a more powerful weapon?  If teachers were on the same level as the killers, wouldn’t they want to up the ante?  Instead of guns which kill one person per shot, predators could resort to methods that killed multiple people in one shot.  A fight gets as elevated as the defensive party allows it to get. Instead of fighting fire with fire, the flames should simply be put out. 

To extinguish the flames that the threat is must be considered.  Most of shootings are actually instigated by victims of bullying at their school.  Students who tend to be the bully should consider the pain they cause directly and ultimately inadvertently.  The pain they cause is what leads the one they hurt to hurt many more.  The cycle of malice can end with just one person.  This can create a peaceful environment where guns aren’t needed altogether.